Serbian protesters clashed with police during a massive anti-government protest in Belgrade

Clashes broke out between groups of protesters and riot police after a large anti-government rally on Saturday Serbian The capital, Belgrade, is tens of thousands of opponents of the country's independent President Aleksandar Vucic

While the rally in Belgrade's central square passed peacefully, young groups of protesters later clashed with riot police, throwing flares, stones and bottles at police officers, who responded with pepper spray as they came forward to disperse them.

The groups rolled garbage cans in the streets as riot police tried to surround them. Police stationed anti-riot vehicles in central Belgrade to prevent protesters from returning and the violence soon subsided.

Crowds of protesters earlier Saturday poured into central Belgrade, many carrying banners and wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the youth movement's “Students Win” slogan. Columns of vehicles entered Belgrade from other Serbian cities earlier in the day.

Vucic wanted to stop the many protests that have shaken his strong rule in the Balkan country. Huge crowds on Saturday marked the end of the standoff more than a year after protests began demanding accountability. tragedy at the train station in northern Serbia in November 2024, 16 people died.

Vucic said in an Instagram video on Saturday that the protesters “showed their violent nature and that they cannot stand up to political opponents.” He also added on the plane as he traveled to China that “the government is working and will continue to work in accordance with the law.”

Protests against corruption it forced then-Prime Minister Milos Vucevic to resign in January 2025 before authorities cracked down on the protesters. Many people in Serbia have blamed the collapse of concrete at the station on alleged carelessness caused by grafting during the renovation of the building by Chinese companies.

Students on Saturday demanded early elections and the rule of law, accusing the government of crime and corruption.

Prosecutor Bojana Savovic told the crowd that “a country where laws are not followed or applied selectively is no longer a state, it is turning into a mafia organization.”

The speaker of the Parliament, Ana Brnabic, ignored the students' meeting, saying that “it does not offer anything new.” Brnabic commented on the police estimate that 34,300 people came to the meeting and said “democracy is on the rise.”

Clashes erupted near the park camp of Vucic's followers outside the Serbian presidential palace, which he set up before another large anti-government rally last March as a shield for protesters. Traditional music played in the fenced area surrounded by a line of riot police in full gear.

Serbia's railway company canceled all trains to and from Belgrade on Saturday, in an apparent attempt to prevent at least some people from traveling from other parts of the country.

Serbia's president has faced international scrutiny for his tough tactics against protesters last year, including arbitrary arrests and excessive use of force. The Council of Europe's human rights commissioner, Michael O'Flaherty, criticized the Serbian government in a report this week and said he would “closely monitor the situation” on Saturday.

O'Flaherty also cited “police reports protecting unknown assailants and often masking journalists and protesters.” He said the rights situation has deteriorated since his last visit in April 2025.

Serbia officially wants to join the European Union but maintains close ties with Russia and China. The backsliding of democracy under Vucic could cost the country nearly 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion) in European Union funding, the EU's top enlargement official warned last month.

The venue on Saturday was Belgrade's Slavija Square, the site of the largest anti-government demonstration in March 2025. That rally ended in a sudden disruption that experts later said – and the government denied – involved the use of a stun gun against peaceful protesters.

The youth movement's demand for justice and the rule of law resonated strongly among Serbian citizens, who are disillusioned with politicians who have made a name for themselves after decades of endless problems.

The students now say they plan to challenge Vucic in the next election, hoping to topple the violent government. Vucic said this week that voting could be held between September and November this year.

Vucic, government officials and pro-government media have branded critics as foreign agents bent on destroying the country – rhetoric that has fueled political polarization.

Demonstrator Maja Milas Markovic said the students “were able to gather us here with their youth and amazing energy; I really believe that [the] the right to a normal life.”